Discourse Analysis of Politicians' Social Media Posts Analisis Wacana Postingan Politikus dalam Media Sosial - OSF
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186
P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
DOI: 10.26623/themessenger.v10i2.792 174
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ Social Media Posts
Analisis Wacana Postingan Politikus dalam Media Sosial
Alia Azmi1, Ike Sylvia2, Desy Mardhiah2
1
Pancasila and Civics Education, Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Negeri Padang,
Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka, Air Tawar Padang, Indonesia
2
Sociology Education – Anthropology, Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Negeri
Padang, Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka, Air Tawar Padang, Indonesia
*Corresponding author, e-mail: alia.azmi@fis.unp.ac.id
Abstract
The use of social media, especially by political figures, can directly bridge
communications between politicians and their constituents and other supportive or opposing
parties. This study aims to analyze the posts of political figures’ social media using discourse
analysis to convey explicit or implicit messages that can not be separated from political
intentions. Discourse analysis helps to understand the meaning of message or text of the media
regarding the messenger's social environment and relationships. The study found that three
political figures with most followers in three most popular social media platforms--Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter--Prabowo Subianto, Ridwan Kamil, and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
represent their nationalism and Islamic identity in their social media posts. They also convey
their opinions about the general political issues in spite of divisive political condition among
public that is also visible among politicians.
Keywords: Discourse Analysis, Politicians’ Social Media, Prabowo Subianto, Ridwan Kamil,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Abstrak
Penggunaan media sosial terutama oleh tokoh politik dapat menjembatani langsung
komunikasi antara politikus dan konstituennya maupun pihak-pihak lain yang mendukung
ataupun berseberangan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis media sosial tokoh politik
dengan analisis wacana untuk menjelaskan makna eksplisit maupun implisit pesan yang tidak
lepas dari tujuan politis. Analisis wacana membantu memahami makna pesan atau teks media
tanpa terlepas dari lingkungan dan hubungan-hubungan sosial pembawa pesan. Penelitian ini
menemukan bahwa tiga tokoh politik dengan jumlah pengikut terbanyak pada tiga platform
terpopuler--Facebook, Instagram, dan Twitter--yaitu Prabowo Subianto, Ridwan Kamil, dan
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono merepresentasikan identitas nasionalisme dan keislaman mereka di
kiriman media sosial. Mereka juga sering mengemukakan pendapat tentang isu-isu politik yang
umum walaupun dalam kenyataannya mereka menghadapi perbedaan pandangan politik di
tengah masyarakat.
Kata Kunci: Analisis Wacana, Media Sosial Politikus, Prabowo Subianto, Ridwan Kamil,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Copyright © 2018 Universitas Semarang. All rights reserved.
Introduction
The use of internet and digital media to convey political messages has increased
significantly since the discovery of social media in the 2000s. In Indonesia, the use of
social media by political figures found its momentum after President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono (SBY) had started his Facebook and Twitter accounts during his office
Article History: Received March 18, 2018; Revised July 20, 2018; Accepted July 30, 2018; Published
July 31, 2018
175 P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
term. As of September 2017, SBY has the largest number of social media followers
among political figures (more than 9 million Twitter followers on September 2017). By
the 2014 presidential election, social media accounts of Prabowo Subianto and Joko
Widodo as presidential candidates gained many new followers during the campaign
period. In addition to political figures, non-political celebrities and public figures also
voiced their political views in their social media accounts, some even have millions of
followers such as presenter Sarah Sechan and preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar or Aa
Gym. The various political messages from various circles channeled through social
media has changed the dynamics of political communication in the country. However,
the ‘celebrity politicians’ phenomenon is not uniquely Indonesian and not entirely new,
as John Street argued that the ‘celebrityhood’ of the politicians and the political
opinions of pop stars are consistent with political representation (Street, 2004).
The increasing use of social media in politics can be attributed to the young
Indonesian population. In Indonesia, the productive age of 15-64 years, who is the
largest internet user, reaches 66.5% of the total population (Indonesia-investments,
2017). By 2017, Indonesian internet users reach 143.26 million people (54.68%) and are
dominated by young people aged 19-34 years of 49.52%, followed by 35-54 years old
(29.55%). When surfing in the web, users are most likely to access chat application and
(89.35%) and social media (87.3%) (APJII, 2018). Therefore, it is understandable that
in political competition, political leaders will continue to strive for youth support
primarily through social media and the internet.
With the dominance of young people as internet or social media users, it is not
surprising that the contents of politicians’ social media are not necessarily serious
political messages, but also involve popular culture that looks apolitical at first glance,
but clearly aims to attract sympathy. Ridwan Kamil, the mayor of Bandung,
continuously uses his Instagram account (6.2 million followers on September 2017) to
deliver messages aimed at young people, such as suggestion to get married and avoid
being ’jomblo’ (single) too long; President Jokowi broadcast a short video of lunch with
Saudi’s King Salman and about his birthing goat; ex Jakarta governor and vice governor
Ahok and Djarot, during the Greater Jakarta election campaign, broadcast their video
playing ‘flip bottle challenge’ which was viral among netizens. In the society, the word
‘pencitraan’ (imagery) is popular to describe the ability of political figures to construct
their image in social media to attract sympathy. Academia link this phenomenon to
terms such as celebrity politicians (Street, 2004) as well as personalization of politics,
where leaders, instead of political parties, are becoming more important (McAllister,
2007). Therefore, political leaders maximize their use of social media to interact more
with their constituents without being filtered by the mainstream media. In doing so, they
can construct their own intended identity aimed to attract public support. However,
political messages in the social media can still be interpreted using constructivist views
using discourse analysis as had been done to the mainstream media.
Critical discourse analysis is basically used to comprehend media text critically
and always question media coverage because it stems from the belief that the text is not
neutral nor value free. Critical discourse analysis always sees the text as a discourse that
is inseparable from the action (the purpose of interaction), context, history, elements of
power, and ideology (Eriyanto, 2001). According to the critical view underlying the
analysis of critical discourse, the production and reproduction process of meaning of a
discourse is strongly influenced by power relations, therefore the content of the media
has a certain political purpose. Critical discourse analysis attempts to disassemble
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186
Jurnal The Messenger P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810 176
messages in an implicit, hidden, or latent medium by giving more flexibility to the
researcher's view. This article discusses manifest and latent messages in the politicians’
social media posts as well as impression they try to convey in their social media posts.
Methodology
This research used Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis with three-
dimensional model (text analysis), meso (interpretation or linking production and
consumption of text), and macro (explanation through social analysis) (Haryatmoko,
2016). We analyzed not only written text but also other contents such as images (photos
and cartoons) and moving images (video, animation). The research, which had been
programmed for 2017, was conducted from August to September to obtain the
politicians’ newest posts at that time and to limit the number of posts to be analyzed
more deeply. Politicians social media accounts were selected based on the greatest
number of followers in three popular sites; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Therefore, we analyzed Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Twitter (9.8 million followers),
2014 and 2019 presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s Facebook fanpage (9.5
million followers), and Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil’s Instagram (7 million
followers) as of September 2017. Prabowo and Ridwan each has a Facebook fanpage,
an Instagram account, and a Twitter account, while SBY has a Facebook fanpage and a
Twitter account. However, the different characteristics of their constituents and follower
representations make only in one of the social media accounts they gain more followers
than in others; therefore Prabowo Subianto has most followers in Facebook, Ridwan
Kamil has most followers in Instagram, and SBY has most followers in Twitter. The
research was conducted in three stages: (a) tracking posts of political figures in August-
September 2017, which amounts to 54 posts total; (b) describe posts by the use of
vocabulary, terms and metaphors; and (c) the interpretation of posts’ text regarding the
politicians’ background, environment, and the manner in which the messages or texts
were delivered.
Previous works and research focus on Ridwan Kamil’s social media activities,
such as those by Firmansyah and Irwansyah which reveals that Ridwan Kamil’s Twitter
account celebrity messages are tweeted more and get more replies (Firmansyah &
Irwansyah, 2017), and the pattern of informative messages of Ridwan Kamil’s Twitter
account (Novianti, Budiono, & Rusmana, 2016). Few research focus on Prabowo’s
social media use particularly in his bid to 2014 presidential election, such as the
effectivity of Facebook for his campaign (Abdillah, 2014), while SBY’s social media
use was documented and reviewed by Putu Suasta (2017). This research aims to discuss
comparatively the social media use by three most followed politicians in the most used
platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using critical discourse analysis.
Result and Discussion
Prabowo Subianto’s Facebook Post
There are eight posts of Prabowo Subianto’s Facebook fanpage from August 24 to
September 21, 2017. Prabowo’s Facebook posts usually consist of a photo or collections
of photos (called albums) with captions ranging from one short (two lines) to several
long paragraphs. The text posts or captions use formal style language with good
grammar with all sentences having a clear subject and predictions. They also follow
writing rules almost perfectly such as capital letters, with minimal typographical errors.
Sometimes the posts contain only short explanation of the events in the photo, such as
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ ... (Alia Azmi)177 P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
Prabowo's activities in M. Dawam Raharjo’s book review about the thoughts of
Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo, his father, that was held at the University of Indonesia.
In another post, the text is long enough, two paragraphs, in describing the picture of
Prabowo speaking at a campaign to support Gerindra’s (the party he leads) candidates
TGH. Ayhar Abduh and H. Mory Hanafi in West Nusa Tenggara gubernatorial election.
The caption starts with the phrase ‘Good evening, comrades’, where ‘comrades’
(sahabat) is the word he almost always used to greet his followers, Prabowo thanks the
people of West Nusa Tenggara who attended the event. The sentece continues with an
invitation to support the candidates and to guide a just and clean democratic process and
not let the political competition divide the nation. On another post, he posted a text
without picture stating Gerindra's deep concern for the violence against the Rohingyas.
The statement is directed at the Myanmar government by emphasizing that he does not
mean to interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs. There is also an emphasis that the
concern is based on humanity, not in the name of religion as commonly found among
Indonesians’ opinion.
The photographs also display Prabowo’s activities in various organizations for
example as party chairman, member of the military, and chairman of the Association of
Pencak Silat Indonesia. In many of these photos, he is seen talking in public, crowd, or
shaking hands with one of the people surrounding him. In the photo of the Pencak Silat
match opening at SEA GAMES 2017, Prabowo is seen holding a picture placard with
someone in a red-and-white jacket, most likely the head of the Indonesian delegation or
the coach. There is also a photo with the description ‘Participating in Humanitarian
Action to Stop Persecution of the Rohingyas’ which shows a group of people gathered
near two cars, probably on the roadside, but no Prabowo there.
Figure 1. Prabowo’s September 17 post on His Presence in Book Review about
His Father (Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo)
Ridwan Kamil’s Instagram Posts
Ridwan Kamil’s Instagram posts are selected from September 23-27, 2017. The
period is shorter than two other politicians’ social media posts examined because
Ridwan is quite active in posting that within the period of a few days there are already
27 photos and videos. Instagram is a social media for sending photos and videos,
although not infrequently accompanied by caption written long enough to explain the
photos or videos. Thus, the account owner cannot just send text without photos or
videos like on Facebook or Twitter. Therefore, Ridwan Kamil can post 27 photos and
videos within five days.
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186Jurnal The Messenger P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810 178
Instagram is essentially a visual-based social media, so it is dominantly filled with
various photos and videos. Ridwan usually posts photos or collections of photographs or
collections of photographs and videos with descriptions of mostly just one paragraph.
Most of the descriptions of the posts are tagged or mention someone or some people
associated with the photo like the photographer or the original owner of the
photos/videos. The language used is a combination of standard languages with informal
and sometimes oral style, because many contain humor popular among young people
such as mentioning ‘mantan’ (ex-boyfriend/girlfriend). Sometimes local language
Sundanese is used; there’s even a special day to post in Sundanese namely
‘rebonyunda’ which is a post on some Wednesdays in Sundanese, although he does not
post it regularly.
Ridwan Instagram’s photos include photos with text, memes, drawings, graphics,
cartoons, screenshots, and a combination of different shapes. Photos display Ridwan
visiting the community, receiving guests, receiving awards, and personal subjects such
as family members, most often are his wife, mother and children. He also posts photos
of other people like the people who are enjoying public facilities, the people who gather
around him even ask for photos selfie together, and photos of family members. Most of
these photos were edited to embed some text on it, like memes. Meanwhile the videos
usually show shot videos of Ridwan himself, videos of residents, or videos obtained
from the internet. Some videos show Ridwan greeting his followers on national holidays
or certain events, other show people enjoying public facilities in Bandung.
In general, the 27 Ridwan’s Instagram posts are grouped into three themes:
1. Personal theme where he often posts about his family members, showing a happy
family. Ridwan often post his picture with his wife Atalia Kamil, and occasionally
with his mother or children. On other occasions, he posted a picture of his own
mother or his own wife or his own children with affective or pride affirmations or
or gratitude to them. Sometimes Ridwan post a picture of his wife alone or with
him or with others with a humorous account of his wife or those around his wife.
2. Expertise theme where he posts pictures of his creation in architecture and urban
design which is his expertise and professional background beside being politician.
This is seen from the photo of the mini library for certain sub-district in the
program ‘1 Kelurahan 1 Perpustakaan’ (one sub-district one library) on
September 26 and the photo of Asian African Garden model also on September
26, 2017.
3. Policy theme as he often posts about his policy as mayor and its influence on the
people of Bandung. On September 25, Ridwan posted photos and videos themed
the 20th anniversary of Bandung city. The photos and videos include show
developments he had established such as Bandung Planning Gallery, Bandung
Tour on Bus, children's play pool, Bandung city square, and happy faces of the
people in the facilities captioned "96% of residents who feel happy living in
Bandung," and "87% happy and very happy citizens of Bandung." On September
26, Ridwan posted photos about public installment ‘Program Kredit Mesra’ which
is distributed through mosques. On September 26 Ridwan also posted an animated
picture of Mobile Mental Health, a counseling service for the residents to talk
about their life problems. The post was aimed to look for a Brand Ambassador for
the program.
Beside the three main themes, there are several post style that stand out:
1. Greetings on special occassion such as National Farm Day on September 24.
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ ... (Alia Azmi)179 P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
2. In the National Farm Day, Ridwan quoted the first president Soekarno's words:
“Food Problem is a Matter of Life and Death of a Nation.” This quote, as well as
September 25 post of a black and white picture of Ridwan in front of a crowd that
resembles Bung Karno's historic photo in Ikada field, indicate that he is inspired
by Sukarno.
3. Bandung City or Sundanese identity, which is the indigenous and majority ethnic
group in West Java, especially in Bandung city. On September 24, Ridwan posted
a photo of a band called Mocca that comes from Bandung who will perform at a
music festival in South Korea. The post aimed to encourage his followers to
support Bandung artists. On September 27, he post a photo with #rebonyunda tag,
a post with Sundanese language, which is a regular post almost every Wednesday
where he gives Sundanese captions for photographs or video.
4. Religious advice as indicated by September 23 photo of congregated prayer and
captioned an invitation for the congregated dawn prayer every Sunday for the
Muslims and attending Sunday service for Christians.
Figure 2. Ridwan’s September 25 Post on Bandung Anniversary and Happy Residents
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Tweets
SBY tweets are selected from 7 August to 21 September 2017 amounting 19
tweets. Twitter posts are usually called tweets, which initially consist of only 140
letters, so users often send several tweets at once to discuss about something, including
SBY who often sends some tweets to express his opinion on certain issues, including
government policies. SBY’s tweets mostly contain photos and a collection of photos
with captions, as well as mere texts. SBY’s photo tweets usually show SBY’s activities
as his position as former president and leader of Partai Demokrat party such as attending
discussion forums and TV interviews. Some pictures also show personal activities such
as cycling in the park. Two photos show SBY sitting as seen from the back right while
writing with books on his desk. Both images have natural background, being located at
the middle of lawn. In both photos some texts are embedded. In another post, there’s a
Youtube link with caption about a song created by SBY sung by two senior singers
Harvey Malaiholo and Rafika Duri. On Indonesian independence greeting, SBY posted
a photo of red and white flag with embedded text on the picture; "Todays’
PATRIOTISM and NATIONALISM are the ones that make Indonesia DEVELOPED,
PROSPEROUS, and MORE DIGNIFIED in the 21st century." The capital letters show
emphasis on those words. Some other texts also use capital letters as an emphasis such
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186Jurnal The Messenger P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810 180
as "One of the attitudes of GREAT SOUL is the willingness to refrain oneself for a
BIGGER OBJECTIVE and a greater public interest."
Figure 3. SBY’s August 23 Post on His Reading Habit and Advice on Hard Work
The Production of Text and Interpretation of Politicians’ Social Media Posts
Interpretation of the social media posts by analyzing the production of text is
expected to determine the impression reflected by the three political figures in their
social media. From photographs posted by Prabowo Subianto, Ridwan Kamil, and SBY,
it appears that all three emphasize the nationalist identity, the populist and Islamic views
in life.
Nationalist Identity in Politicians’ Social Media
Defending the Unitary Republic of Indonesia (Negara Kesatuan Republik
Indonesia/NKRI) is more dominantly displayed by SBY than Prabowo Subianto and
Ridwan Kamil. From SBY’s tweets, there is a remark of Indonesia's independence
(Dirgahayu RI) and 9th Constitution day on August 17 and 18. Capitalized letters of the
words patriotism and nationalism appear several times in the picture of ‘Dirgahayu RI’
shows SBY’s strong emphasis on NKRI. In the picture of the Constitution day, the
image of the state symbol Garuda Pancasila with a dominant black and slightly red
background with light from the upper corner of the state symbol indicates the firmness
of the image. SBY also shows the impression of wisdom using the word 'big heart',
'good reputation', and 'better' in the pictures. In two pictures of SBY writing on a desk
with a natural background, he shows his personality of always learning and reading
books in a peaceful and calm nature. In these two images there is a ray of light. This,
along with his white shirt indicate enlightenment from learning and reading books.
Prabowo has a different style from SBY. Although Prabowo also shows a strong
nationalist character but he seems more eager to show the greatness of his father,
Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo, and his role in the populist economy. As an economist,
Soemitro had contributed in developing the populist economy of Indonesia in his time.
Prabowo also shows populist perspective in certain issues but he often tries to appear
different from other people. For example, in his picture in a paddy field, he used a
cowboy-style hat, as one of his trademarks to distinguish himself from other people and
as a complement to his appearance. It might be also because of his fondness in horse
riding. In the picture of Pencak Silat match opening in SEA GAMES 2017, Prabowo as
the chairman of Pencak Silat Indonesia wore a suit while other people around him wore
something sportier such as the red and white jacket of the Indonesian delegates and
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ ... (Alia Azmi)181 P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
traditional Malay clothes of the host. Although his suit had the same color with those
worn by others, the suit still shows that Prabowo looks different from others.
Ridwan Kamil shows more of contemporary and hip style in his various posts in
the form of photos, videos, and captions. However, local aspects are as well maintained,
such as the wearing of West Java traditional hat or the use of Sundanese language in the
captions. This shows Ridwan represents himself more as a regional politician, not a
national, since he once refused to be nominated to be the DKI Jakarta gubernatorial
candidate, which attracts more attention in domestic politics, and some people even call
him a future presidential candidate. Some posts are captioned with slang languages that
are close to netizens like ‘gaul’ (slang), ‘kudu’ (must), and ‘zaman now’ (hip). The
pictures and videos of Bandung are the parts that look tidy and clean with modern taste
thanks to the Ridwan’s professional background in architecture and urban planning.
There are also pictures displaying his warm encounters with the people, such as the
picture of him in the rice field, where his figure appears more dominant among other
people in the picture because he was holding a stack of cut rice stems. In most pictures
where he was photographed with the residents, the number of the residents is not high,
but the people were laughing and looking cheerful. He also often puts photos of family
members such as his wife, children, and mother, which are often captioned with the
importance of family influence in his life and his successful careers, therefore he
encourages people to also respect their families and parents.
The Political Domain of the Politicians
In the increasing use of social media, regional and national leaders are able to
manage their social media accounts according to their style and the taste of their
constituents or followers. In the social media posts, politicians display the sense of
nationalism to the NKRI and Pancasila ideology differently by selecting different
realities to post.
Prabowo uses some figures interdiscoursively in his posts. The great name of his
father, Soemitro about his political economic ideas was associated with the present
economic condition particularly nationalism in the caption of Dawam Raharjo’s Book
Review at the Faculty of Economics and Business UI. He proposed that the economic
values in the Banteng movement economic system that benefited the ‘pribumi’ (the
Majority Malay Indonesians) were suitable to be re-applied in today's global market.
Here, Prabowo explained that the sense of nationalism does not necessarily be
actualized in celebration every year, but in finding the right solution for the people to
improve their life.
In the social practice, Prabowo considered agriculture as a form of ‘ekonomi
kerakyatan’ (populist economy), due to the view that the majority indigenous peoples
dominantly work in the agricultural sector so that social and economic empowerment is
needed to make the sector as competitive as other sectors. In this case, Prabawo
supports the view that the public’s interests are represented by farming economy in
order to support the national economy. Therefore, Prabowo tried to eliminate the
marginalized feelings of the farmers through the pictures of him raising harvested rice
with the farmers. This is reminiscent of the success of his father-in-law, Soeharto,
during his leadership in improving agriculture, particularly in making some areas the
national rice granary. The picture also represents his activities as chairman of the
agricultural organization ‘Himpunan Kerukunan Tani Indonesia’ (HKTI).
Ridwan Kamil’s Instagram account shows a completely different style of
nationalism. Almost all of his photos intertextualize naming choice for positive image
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186Jurnal The Messenger P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810 182
of Bandung city and residents, such as ‘Beloved City’, ‘Precious City’, ‘Gemah Ripah
Rapeh Rapih’, ‘happy and prosperous residents physically and mentally’, ‘Amanah
Istiqomah’ (rusted leader), and ‘Silih Asih, Silih Asuh, Silih Wawangi.' Such identity
puts the Bandung residents as masters in their own home city under civilized, hip, and
modern administration that shows Ridwan’s integrity in developing Bandung city.
Residents’ convenience in doing their activities in the public space can be seen from
their happy face and laughter, particularly the youth and elderly during Bandung city
anniversary celebration. The West Java traditional head band shows the local taste of
Ridwan’s nationalism.
In Ridwan Kamil’s posts of photographs and videos, Bandung is almost always
shown in full colors with captions of development made during his leadership, usually
in pride tone. These colors appear in urban as well as in rural environment and other
community empowerment. In a picture of him in the rice field at National Farm Day,
Ridwan quoted Soekarno's words: "Food Problem is a Matter of Life and Death of the
Nation--Bung Karno.” Ridwan Kamil's black and white photograph in the town square
was designed in such a way that looks like Soekarno's iconic photos in the Ikada field
addressing the crowd. This shows that Ridwan Kamil is inspired by the Indonesia's first
president. It means that as Soekarno had emphasized the importance of Indonesian
agriculture, Ridwan Kamil also wants to focus on food security since it is vital to the
state’s well-being, as if Ridwan Kamil is the present Soekarno. Ridwan embeds the
Soekarno identity on himself as the project of the self, just as argued by Giddens about
the self-identity as a reflexive project, and the concept has been used broadly to explain
online identity (Gradinaru, 2014).
Meanwhile, SBY uses different photo intertextuality on his Twitter account. In the
picture of Indonesia 72-year independence celebration, the Indonesian flag red and
white colors are more highlighted than the words and pictures. The picture of the red
and white flag and a group of parachutists jumping out of a plane with the blue-sky
background displays Indonesian identity. The Developed, Prosperous and Courageous
words in red capital letters shows identity that must be lived at present in order to
improve Indonesia. The picture also shows SBY’s military identity and the importance
of defense for nationalism.
Therefore, the three figures have their own specialties in showing their political
power. SBY identifies the spirit of nationalism in the form of heroic action, as the thing
a soldier should do for his/her country. Meanwhile, Prabowo highlights the ideas of his
father (Soemitro) in building the people's economy. Ridwan Kamil displays complex
aspects in his social media including economy, religion, and art in colorful presentation
to show strong social solidarity and its relationship with the leader.
Positive Image of Islam
Religious identity is one of the contested performances where politicians play in
order to be accepted by the public, particularly voters. Islam as the majority religion in
Indonesia is often displayed by public figures to attract public sympathy. The three
figures in this study show their Islamic identity from different points of view.
SBY uses religious intertextuality using the text of the hadith of Prophet
Muhammed on the picture of Islamic New Year 1 Muharam 1439 H greeting. The text
"With Full Awareness, Let’s Work Harder to Pick Up the Prosperity Promised by Allah
SWT and Prophesized by the Prophet" shows the teaching of hard work in Islam and
SBY suggests working to the fullest effort for a more prosperous life. The picture of
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ ... (Alia Azmi)183 P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
mosques and crescents dominated by dark green color and yellow and white text,
reflects a balance between politics or worldly events and spiritual life.
Prabowo also uses the intertextuality of the Kaaba and the Muslims surrounding it
in the picture of Eid al-Adha greeting. Kaaba is one of the sacred symbols for Muslim.
The picture is dominantly white, including Prabowo’s white koko shirt, although the in
the background the Kaaba is surrounded by pilgrims. His hands are clasped in front of
his chest like the usual gestures of congratulations on the feast days of Islam. The words
"Please Convey My Greetings to Families and Relatives at Home" in the text is almost
similar to the greeting text by the Prosperous Justice Party PKS in the banners of the
main street of Padang City (Nasrullah & Mardhiah, 2013). Therefore, an ideal leader is
depicted in certain religious identity along with good relations with family members and
relatives. On the other hand, the phrase "please convey my greetings to ..." shows the
closeness of Indonesian society, so in this post Prabowo want to represent that he is
close to the community.
Ridwan Kamil shows religious intertextuality in his posts of almost every Sunday
of advice to attend ‘Subuh Berjamaah’ (congregated dawn prayer). The Sunday posts
are captioned "Worldly interest we do, afterlife we prepare #SubuhBerjamaah" on
photos of Muslims praying in congregation. There is also address of the mosque he will
attend on that particular Sunday, sometimes also the address of the mosque that will be
visited by his deputy. Those are followed by advice to attend Sunday service for
Christians, which shows that Ridwan Kamil is not only trying to reach the Muslim
society but also other religions. The next phrase “to be tough and strong both physically
and spiritually" reflects religiosity in various religious groups, not only the Muslim
majority. However, other official religions in Indonesia, such as Hinduism, Buddhism
and Chinese were not mentioned, possibly because they have no certain worship to do
on Sunday morning, or these groups are smaller in number.
The three figures display an almost uniform view of Islam. The positive aspect of
religion is clearly displayed. Religious differences are not a reason for citizens not to
maintain tolerance as Ridwan implies from the above sentence. But for Prabowo, family
relationships need to be clearly displayed because family is a reflection of a country.
The Socio-Cultural Aspects of Politicians’ Social Media Discourse
Prabowo, Ridwan Kamil, and SBY--although do not hold ruling position in the
current national regime--are important figures in Indonesia with the significant number
of supporters. Prabowo lost the 2014 presidential election but his supporters remain
loyal and expect him to be the next president, as seen in his followers’ comments in
most of his posts. Even in the 2018 political year--when presidential candidates are
expected to register at the General Election Commission KPU--Prabowo is expected to
run and get political support from other politicians such as SBY. SBY, who is forbidden
to run for the third time by the constitution, is still politically active in Partai Demokrat
party he founded and leads. In the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Partai Demokrat
appointed SBY’s son, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as the gubernatorial candidates,
which is seen by many as a stepping stone for the national political arena. The rookie
AHY lost the election, however, his name doesn’t disappear in public discussion and
news, as he continued to appear publicly in meetings with other politicians and
important figures such as President Jokowi’s apolitically ambitious sons Gibran
Rakabuming and Kaesang Pangarep. Meanwhile, Ridwan Kamil, in spite of being a
local leader, is nationally recognized for his various awards in innovations and social
media use in governance. Bandung, the city he ruled, was the capital of Indonesia’s
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186Jurnal The Messenger P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810 184
most populous province West Java. He run as West Java gubernatorial candidate in
2018 simultaneous election and won by a tiny margin. Due to its size, West Java is
considered one of the important provinces that represent Indonesian voters that winning
the province might guarantee future national victory.
The August-September 2017 period of the research was the quiet moment after
the divisive Jakarta gubernatorial election and before the 2018 simultaneous election as
well as the registration of presidential candidates for the 2019 election. The 2017
Jakarta gubernatorial election is seen as the continuation of the public division during
the 2014 presidential election, where the nationalist secular group supports Joko
Widodo and Islamic group supports Prabowo Subianto, as the 2017 gubernatorial
election critically divided not only Jakarta inhabitants but also the whole nation. The
212 movement by some Muslim group demanded that the then governor Basuki Tjahaya
Purnama ‘Ahok’ from the minority Christian Chinese to step down. Ahok, who was
appointed by Jokowi’s party PDIP, lost to Gerindra’s candidate Anies Baswedan, while
SBY’s son AHY gained insignificant number of voters in the first round of election.
None of these eventful political circuses is visible in the politicians’ social media.
The politicians convey positive messages and advices on general issues such as to do
good and improve for the nation. After the gubernatorial election, some mainstream
media and observers predicted that Prabowo will pair with AHY for the 2018
presidential elections, while others predict that AHY will be paired with President
Jokowi (Nugraheny, 2017), however, no politicians post pictures or messages regarding
their political rivals and opponents. Even when the presidential candidate registration
approaches in 2018, when SBY openly support Prabowo to be a candidate (Ihsanuddin,
2018), none of their social media shows pictures of the meeting as the mainstream
media do. Their social media, with pictures such as SBY being hospitalized and visited
by several politicians including Prabowo, shows rather a peaceful interaction than
competitive relation on political supports. Ridwan Kamil, who always insists that he is
not any party’s cadre, distance himself from the divisions and focus on his personal
stories, good-deeds and promotional public policy messages to emphasize his positive
identity. It can be concluded that the three politicians project themselves positively in
their social media in spite of the mainstream media depiction of their political
maneuvers.
The political competition and rivalries are indeed visible in some of the comments
for the posts. Some comments resonate with the posts’ messages and style; Prabowo and
SBY get more formal and loyal comments on their leaderships, while Ridwan Kamil
gets more comments on his personal stories and ‘celebrity’ messages. Prabowo gets
comments of prayer for his health so he can lead the country in the future. The prayer
for someone’s health means formal and respectful greeting particularly for older person.
Being one of senior politicians that rarely posts personalized messages, the comments
are understandable coming from younger netizens. Comments on SBY’s tweets are
almost similar, where his constituent express gratitude for the prosperous condition
during his tenure. It is not uncommon to find the loyal comments added with
comparison to the present government’s policies that are not satisfactory for them.
Ridwan Kamil gets more informal comments for his celebrity political messages, some
even in Sundanese language. Followers usually comment on his down-to-earth
leadership and--depending on the pictures--comments on his appearance, jealousy of his
affection with his wife, and even unrelated topics such as how to improve achievement
at school and sales promotions. Although the three politicians get comments from
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ ... (Alia Azmi)185 P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810
haters, who compare them with their rivals or mention about their rival’s success,
Ridwan Kamil relatively gets fewer negative comments, which is possibly because as
much he is active in responding to comments--including fighting against negative
comment--as the comments are mostly not of serious political discussion. Prabowo and
SBY do not reply to comments as much as Ridwan Kamil does. This means that Ridwan
Kamil uses personalization of politics and celebrity politics more intensely than other
two politicians.
Conclusion
The three political figures Prabowo Subianto, Ridwan Kamil, and SBY convey
messages and represent themselves differently from each other. The three figures
demonstrate the spirit of nationalism, although in different ways and styles. SBY
identifies nationalism in the form of heroic action, which is reasonable given his
military background. Prabowo poured the ideas of his father Soemitro
Djojohadikoesoemo in building the people's economy. Ridwan Kamil presents
economic, religious and artistic aspects to show the social solidarity and the society’s
harmonious relations with the leaders. The three figures also display Islamic identity,
since it cannot be denied that religious identity is very crucial in the Indonesian society
and become one of the public assessments of a leader. Thus, political figures at various
levels keenly show the identity of their religions, particularly Islam, which is the
majority religious group in Indonesia. Ridwan Kamil, Prabowo Subianto, and SBY
show their concern for religion by greeting their followers on religious holidays
followed with advices to do good. Future research can focus on audiences in social
media particularly followers of politicians’ social media since different reactions of
audiences will show the absence of absolute truth as postmodernism--which underlies
critical theory--reveals.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Universitas Negeri Padang for funding the
research through PNBP 2017 scheme.
References
Abdillah, L. A. (2014). Indonesian’s Presidential Social Media Campaigns. In Seminar
Nasional Sistem Informasi Indonesia. Surabaya: ITS. Retrieved from
https://arxiv.org/abs/1409.8372
APJII. (2018). Infografis Penetrasi & Perilaku Pengguna Internet Indonesia: Survey
2017. Jakarta. Retrieved from https://cdn-
report.dailysocial.id/Laporan_Survei_APJII_v1_3.pdf
Eriyanto. (2001). Analisis Wacana: Pengantar Analisis Teks Media. Yogyakarta: LKiS.
Firmansyah, & Irwansyah. (2017). Elaboration of Type of Celebrity Political Message
in Social Media Microblogging: Content Analysis Study of Bandung Major. In
2017 Conference Proceedings of Indonesia International Graduate Conference on
Communication (IndoIGCC) (pp. 1356–1372). Depok: Departemen Ilmu
Komunikasi FISIP Universitas Indonesia. Retrieved from http://proceeding.indo-
igcc.id/index.php/IndoIGCC/article/view/84/85
Gradinaru, C. (2014). Online Identity as a Narrative Project. International Journal of
Communication Research, 4(3).
Haryatmoko. (2016). Critical Discourse Analysis. Jakarta: Rajawali Press.
Jurnal The Messenger, Vol. 10, No. 2, July 2018, pp. 174-186Jurnal The Messenger P-ISSN: 2086-1559, E-ISSN: 2527-2810 186
Ihsanuddin. (2018). Tiket Gratis dari SBY untuk Prabowo... Retrieved July 30, 2018,
from https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2018/07/31/09413711/tiket-gratis-dari-
sby-untuk-prabowo
Indonesia-investments. (2017). Penduduk Indonesia. Retrieved February 24, 2018, from
https://www.indonesia-investments.com/id/budaya/penduduk/item67
McAllister, I. (2007). The Personalization of Politics. In R. J. Dalton & H. Klingemann
(Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199270125.003.0030
Nasrullah, & Mardhiah, D. (2013). The Discourse of Eid 1429AH/2011AD Greetings
on the Banners and Billboards in Padang City. Al Albab Borneo Journal of
Religious Studies (BJRS), 2(2).
Novianti, E., Budiono, A., & Rusmana, A. (2016). Analisis Isi Pola Penyampaian Pesan
Informatif Wali Kota Bandung pada Akun Twitter @ridwankamil. In Prosiding
Seminar Nasional Komunikasi 2016. Bandar Lampung: Program Studi Ilmu
Komunikasi FISIP Universitas Lampung. Retrieved from
http://jurnal.fisip.unila.ac.id/index.php/prosidingkom/article/view/282
Nugraheny, D. E. (2017). Demokrat: Wacana Duetkan Prabowo-AHY di Pilpres Masih
Jauh. Retrieved August 2, 2017, from
https://www.republika.co.id/berita/nasional/politik/17/08/02/ou2bma361-
demokrat-wacana-duetkan-prabowoahy-di-pilpres-masih-jauh
Street, J. (2004). Celebrity Politicians: Popular Culture and Political Representation.
The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 6(4), 435–452.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2004.00149.x
Discourse Analysis of Politicians’ ... (Alia Azmi)You can also read
